Charlotte Murtz, of Bridgetown, who celebrates her 100th birthday today, Wednesday May 17, was raised by her mom in Woodstock with her two siblings.
Ms Murtz, or “Auntie Dollie” as she is more commonly known, attended the Moravian School in District Six and then Trafalgar High School, but she left in Grade 10 at the age of 16 to work as a cleaner at Groote Schuur Hospital to help support her family.
In 1945, she met her husband, Frederick, while attending confirmation classes at the Moravian Church in District Six. The couple, who married that same year, had three children – two girls and a boy who died at the age of 16.
Ms Murtz did not return to work after having her children as she wanted to stay home to raise them.
She enjoyed reading with her family and at the end of each month, Frederick would buy a book, which the whole family would enjoy, she recalled.
“I was very fond of reading, but now I can’t see properly anymore so that has stopped,” she said.
Frederick died at the age of 45 from a heart attack
In the 1960s, the family moved to Hamerkop Street, in Bridgetown, where Ms Murtz still lives to this day.
She recalled that there weren’t many houses in the area at the time, but while more had sprung up since then, the area had remained quiet.
“I don’t know what goes on at night in the dark, but we have no issues here,” she said. “When we moved in here, there were no shops, and later Elite came and Janjira shop too. Janjira would come around and take our grocery orders in the morning, and in the afternoon, you got your groceries and your bill,” she said.
Ms Murtz believes prayer and a sense of gratitude have helped her to live such a long life.
“Prayer is very important: it will carry you through anything. I have really been happy here all my years, and I take each day as it comes. I have learnt to make do with what I have and never be ungrateful but be thankful, and that is the secret to my longevity.”
She said she was grateful for her children and that they had jobs, and she was grateful to God for sparing her for so many years.
Ms Murtz’s daughter, Freda Murtz, 77, said: “My mom was always satisfied with the little that we had. She never ever complained about what we don’t have. She wasn’t very strict, she was a gentle mom, but we respected her, and we were always well behaved. It is amazing that she’s reached this age. I am grateful for the years she’s been spared and thankful to her for all she’s done for us, playing the role of father and mother when my dad died. My mother led the way and was a role model for us.”